


No Sound But The Wind

by annemaris (annemari)



Category: American Idol RPF
Genre: Domestic, Established Relationship, M/M, Rain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-24
Updated: 2009-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-05 05:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annemari/pseuds/annemaris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Kris is asleep on the couch when Adam gets home</i>; established relationship, domesticity, rain, wet socks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Sound But The Wind

**Author's Note:**

> Forever grateful to summerstorm and thelackoflight for helping. Title from the Editors.

Kris is asleep on the couch when Adam gets home.

He has to run to the front door, it's raining so hard, and he somehow manages to stumble into pretty much every puddle he can find.

He curses the garage for being so far from the house - seriously, who thought that was a good idea?

LA rarely gets weather this bad, and Adam didn't think he'd need to take a jacket with him, it's not like he'd be outside much. The day was hot just an hour ago, sunshine everywhere, but now it's pouring down hard.

He steps into the hallway, his shoes leaking onto the floor with every move, and he pulls them off as fast as he can. His socks aren't doing much better, but at least now he's not tracking mud.

He's shivering by the time he reaches the living room, clothes dripping wet. He knows he should change, get on some dry clothes and warm himself up, but he's too tired to move any further.

The wind outside is howling loud enough to block out the faint noise of the TV.

Kris is sprawled out on the couch; the blanket barely covering him, almost falling to the ground. He still has his glasses on, a little crooked, and the book he was reading is lying on the coffee table, his iPod next to it.

They fought this morning, about something Adam can't even remember. He left for the studio soon after, leaving behind a quiet and moody Kris.

It's been happening a lot, lately.

Arguing about what to share with the press, whether to have lunch out or in, together, or not. Even though the media has clued in, just like they had planned, and now everyone knows, there are still some questions hanging between them, and they are both too exhausted from working on their albums, to discuss things rationally. Adam has so much to do every day, he barely makes it home for the night, and Kris, who's trying to get new songs written, has often dozed off when Adam gets back from a crazy day.

It's easier to just fight about what to have for breakfast than to address the issues, which sometimes magically disappear, only to creep up again, when Kris wants to go out for dinner and Adam says he'd rather stay in, which completely disrupts the balance between them.

Adam decides that right now he couldn't care less about any of it. He gently takes off Kris's glasses and sets them on the table, shuts off the TV and turns off the reading-lamp that stands next to the couch. The only light source that remains is the faint glow of the street-lamps far away. The passing cars illuminate the room, the raindrops on the window creating brief patterns on the walls. He shimmies out of his jeans and pulls off his shirt, drapes them over the end of the gigantic couch. He reaches for the blanket and spreads it over them both as he curls up next to Kris.

The storm rages on around them.

\---

Kris isn't exactly sure what wakes him up, but he gets his answer soon enough: his right hand has gotten trapped by something and there's a heavy weight on his chest.

Adam's back home, pressed up against Kris, his hand over Kris's waist. Moments like this make Kris realize what a good idea it was to buy the widest couch they could find.

Everything's a little blurry and it takes Kris a while to realise he doesn't have his glasses on anymore. Adam must have taken them off when he got here.

Kris has fallen asleep with his glasses on countless times before and woken up to find that they had made dents on his face or, on one memorable occasion, had fallen off and broken under Kris's weight as he turned to his side.

He reaches for the reading lamp; thankfully it's so close that he doesn't have to move much to turn it on. Kris untangles himself from Adam's grip, gently, trying not to disturb him, and pushes himself up, looking at the scene revealed by the orange light. Adam is only halfway covered by the blanket, lying on his side, with his hair going in every direction.

Kris tries to rub the sleep from his eyes.

His glasses are on the coffee table, next to the book he was reading.  
It's tricky to get to them without waking Adam, and Kris knows he really could use the sleep right now, he's been working way too hard.

As he's carefully trying to lean over Adam to reach the table, his brain finally lets in the important piece of information he should have noticed straight away.

Adam is naked, at least he's not wearing a shirt or pants, and even though that's usually not at all unpleasant, something feels off. Kris tries to focus his eyes, he hates being too dependant on his glasses or contacts. It's Adam's hair, he realises. It's plastered across his forehead, like it's gotten wet and then was left to dry on its own. Kris runs his hand through it and finds it still a little damp.

It's raining outside, completely pouring down, a lot noisier than it was when Kris fell asleep.

"You have got to be kidding me."

Kris usually hates doing this, Adam just looks so peaceful and calm when he's asleep, and Kris would just stay there and make sure that nothing disturbs that serenity - but right now Kris needs for him to wake up and assure him that no, he did not manage to get completely soaked and just strip off his clothes without taking a hot shower, or even drying himself off, especially during flu season.   
The blanket is too small to cover their legs, and is the cold that's touching Kris's ankles really coming from - socks. They're wet socks, oh, he is going to kill Adam.

He grabs his glasses, and then completely discards the blanket, leaving it to cover Adam. The room is warm, but there's still a change in temperature that makes goosebumps appear on his skin.

He pushes Adam over onto his back, tries to shake him awake gently, murmuring his name, but Adam doesn't even move, so he settles for kissing. That usually works - not as well as panicked yelling when one of them is so completely late for a meeting or a public appearance, or cold water down the neck when Kris managed to get himself drunk after the "so, apparently you're a bottom" fiasco, but it does the trick. Adam can sleep through a lot, but Kris's kisses him will always end up breaking him.

Kris moves from Adam's temple to his cheek, stops to lick at the base of Adam's ear and nibble at it, moving closer to the mouth, but not actually getting there.

Adam finally stirs. He smiles as his eyes meet Kris's and pulls him down into a deep kiss. Kris loses himself in it for a little while, only coming back to his senses when his hands grasp at Adam's hair and he remembers why he needed Adam to wake up in the first place.

He pulls back, sitting back up, and tries for his best stern face. Adam blinks at him confusedly. He still looks tired and dazed, like he's about to go back to sleep any second.

"Not that I'm complaining, exactly, but why aren't you wearing any clothes?" Kris asks.

"They were wet," Adam says, and tries to wriggle himself closer to Kris, without actually sitting up.

"So are your socks. You didn't take those off."

Adam's eyes bug out a little. "Oh, I forgot."

"Adam, how many times have I told you to take better care of yourself?"  
Kris can feel himself getting frustrated again - he tries not to let it get to him, but it's so damn hard, when Adam shows up, face pale from the cold and wet socks on his feet.

Adam just yawns and rubs at his eyelids. Kris notices Adam's clothes lying on the end of the couch in a heap. He pushes himself up and climbs over Adam to reach them, then gathers them up and starts towards the laundry room, not sparing a glance back at Adam.

This has got to stop. Kris would be fine with Adam working hard, if he'd give himself the chance to rest once in a while, just as he'd be fine with letting Adam decide what's best for their image - cause he'd never force anything on Kris he wouldn't want to do, and he does think he's making the right choices for them both - if he'd just give Kris a chance to show that he can handle all the crazy that comes with this, he's ready for it, 'cause he knows Adam isn't gonna be okay with just staying inside, and he wants people to see them together, and Kris would agree to that in a heartbeat, like he's told Adam countless times, if Adam would just admit it, and not try to _protect him_ or anything .

It's way easier to concentrate on the first problem, though, so Kris is gonna go and put away Adam's clothes, get him a warm bathrobe, make them tea and set up a hot bath, hoping that Adam has had enough sense to take off his socks by the time Kris gets back to the living room.

\---

Adam barely registers that Kris is leaving, he's _so_ tired. The main thing that lets him know that Kris is gone is the sudden loss of body heat, so unexpected that it makes him shiver.

He tries to curl up, pull the blanket around him, but as he moves his feet, the wet socks send little shocks of coldness up his legs and all the way through his body, and he jolts up.

His neck is killing him, probably 'cause he slept in a bad position, which also seems to be encouraging the pain to spread over to his head.

He stays there, hunched over, no energy to move, even to get rid of the damn socks. He wraps himself up in the blanket, legs and all, and tries to fall back asleep, leaning sideways against the back of the couch, maybe it would make the cold go away. He feels a chill run through his body, and shuts his eyes.

"Adam."

Kris is back. He sounds somewhere between annoyed and tired, but he's back. Adam slowly opens his eyes and smiles at him.  
"Hi."

"Did you take off your socks?" Kris is standing in front of Adam, too far away for Adam to reach.

Above everything else, Adam wishes that Kris would come back to the couch and they could go back to sleep. Adam doesn't even consider moving to their bed, he feels too exhausted to even _think_, plus the couch is spacious enough for both of them.

"No," he says, shaking his head and realising that that is not the best idea.

It sounds like the answer is physically painful to Kris, judging by the groan he responds with.

"Why not?" he asks.

"Too tired," Adam mumbles, closing his eyes again. "They're just socks."

"Oh, of course, you're too tired to take care of yourself. And why are you tired? 'Cause you're not taking care of yourself."

Kris is raising his voice and it's cutting straight into Adam's headache.

"Don't yell," he whispers, pouting.

"I can't keep looking after you if you do nothing to help me along," Kris says, more quiet now. He sounds sad and Adam frowns at the accusation, opens his eyes to look at Kris.

"But I'm fine, I'm totally-." His words get interrupted by a sneeze.

Kris sighs again, but he finally sits down on the couch, and Adam instinctively tries to move closer to him.

"If you're too tired to dry yourself off after you get completely soaked to the bone, then, no, you're not fine. And I swear to god, if you get a cold, I don't even _know_."

Adam feels it's safe to smile again, Kris still sounds exasperated, but not pissed. He puts a hand to Adam's shoulder to stop him from tipping over in his hurry to get to Kris, his legs caught in the blanket.

"Easy. Here, put on your bathrobe," Kris says, handing it to Adam.

Adam really doesn't want to let go of the blanket, but the robe feels warm, like Kris set it next to a heater for a while, and he hopes it will stop the shivers that are running up his body.

As he's struggling with the robe, Kris pulls off his wet socks, his warm hands closing around his feet, and Adam moans gratefully. Kris throws them on the floor, which is pretty remarkable, since he's usually the neat one of the two.

Adam manages to get his hands through the sleeves and pull it around him, and Kris reaches over to help with the belt. His fingertips brush against Adam's belly, and they're _so warm_ they make him shiver and he makes a small noise, something between a whimper and a groan. He wants to pull Kris next to him and drink in the heat that's radiating from him. Adam had no idea he was feeling so cold, it doesn't even make sense, he'd been lying next to Kris for at least half an hour if not more, he should have already gotten warm. Damn those socks.

The next sneeze makes his throat hurt and Kris presses a kiss to his forehead, before slipping a new pair of socks on his feet, and getting up to leave. No, no, no, Kris can't go again, Adam doesn't want to be cold, and he raises his arm, trying to catch Kris before he can get farther away. Kris just chuckles and squeezes his hand, like this isn't one of Adam's worst fears miniaturized.

"I'm gonna bring you tea, okay. And then we'll get you warm enough, and then you can go back to sleep."

"Promise?" Adam asks, holding Kris's gaze.

"Yeah, yeah, just try not to fall asleep just yet, I don't wanna be forced to pour the tea down your throat, okay, 'cause you're not getting out of that."

He disappears into the kitchen, before Adam has time to say that he was absolutely not gonna protest against tea, tea is _good_.

He reaches for the remote to turn on the TV, hoping it will keep him awake, even though it won't probably do a lot of good for his headache. The channels flash before his eyes and he's not even paying attention until he comes across E! who are running another made-up story about their relationship, all the information coming from _a very reliable source_. Adam's heard that one so many times it's almost stopped being funny.

Well, almost. He snorts and realises he's totally getting a cold, and there's not a box of tissues in sight. Oh, no, this is so not happening.

He has meetings tomorrow, rehearsals on Monday and he's got to find time to record, he is _not_ getting sick, and when Kris gets wind of this, he's so gonna force Adam to stay inside, and, well, that wouldn't be too bad, if it wasn't for the fact that Adam is crazy-busy right now, and he thinks if they spend too much time in the same house, someone will say _something_, 'cause they're bound to get tired of arguing about whose time it is to do the dishes.

E! is talking about how suspicious it is that the "hot new couple" are nowhere to be found, when it comes to parties and other such events, and even though Adam knows _new_ isn't exactly that new to them anymore, he's got to admit that the press has a point. And it's not that Kris isn't willing to do this, he's told Adam countless times he is, it's just that Adam isn't sure he knows just what he's promising when he says that and - shit, this is what happens when he has too much time to even _think_, not to mention actually talk about this.

"Is there trouble in paradise?" the reporter's saying, something Adam's always found to be the most inane expression ever, and that's when the lights go out.

\---

Kris is done with the tea and reaching for the honey, when he's encompassed by darkness. It startles him so badly the jar slips from his hands and crashes to the ground.

"Kris?" comes Adam's shout from the living room.

"I'm fine!" Kris hollers back, carefully stepping back from the spot where the jar fell. The power must have gone out because of the storm.

The streetlamps still provide some sort of light and slowly his eyes adjust. He figures he can still get the tea into the living room if he can just manage to not trip over anything on the way.

He's about to go to the hallway to find the flashlight, when Adam walks into the kitchen, blue light coming from his hand. Kris realises it's his iPod and yeah, that will work.

"Need help?" Adam asks, he sounds tired, a little sheepish even, but he's grinning. "What broke?"

"Honey, we're gonna - um, we're gonna need new honey," Kris says, unexpectedly choked up at the sight of Adam standing in the doorway, hair astray and the robe only long enough to cover his knees. Kris remembers when they bought it, he complained about it being too short, but Adam liked it. It's _plaid_ and it' absolutely ridiculous, but god if Kris didn't love it, even when it made him roll his eyes at the same time.

Adam looks so young, and Kris tries not to let it get to him, but he's so thankful for the damn rain, otherwise they'd probably be in bed right now, both asleep, and Kris wouldn't have Adam in front of him like this, looking so adorable it hurts.

"Kris?" Adam asks, and his eyebrows knit together.

"Show the light, okay, I'll handle the tea," Kris says, swallowing tightly.

Adam just nods and waits for Kris to pick up the cups.  
They walk side by side to the couch, Adam flashing the iPod in front of them, so Kris can make sure not to stumble over something.

Kris sets the tea down on the coffee table and Adam crawls back on to the couch, tossing the iPod aside.  
Kris thinks it might have been a better idea to also bring him new clothes, not just the bathrobe, but maybe the more access he has to Adam's cold skin, the better.

Kris is about to sit down when Adam sneezes. He sighs and goes over to the bookcase - it's a lot easier to maneuver in the living room, the large windows letting in more of the outside light - to get the package of Kleenex he put there one day last week when he thought he was getting sick. Adam gratefully accepts the handkerchief, and Kris plops down next to him.

Adam's about to pull Kris closer, his hand is on Kris's shoulder and Kris knows if he lets him him do it, they'll both just drink their tea in silence - a comfortable one, but still. Kris feels it's time to solve this issue once and for all, otherwise Adam's gonna keep on working his ass off, and even though Kris knows that's what Adam's always like, and probably always gonna be like, he doesn't want Adam to come home to arguments and cold dinners, he just needs to slow down a little. Kris has to get back in touch with his management soon enough anyway, they need to clear the air right now, and Adam's pliant enough right now not to get too tense and storm out or something, especially considering the fact that there's a storm going on _outside_.

Plus, Kris hid Adam's car-keys before he went to make tea, Adam's done stupid things when he's coming down with a cold before, and Adam with a cold is worse than Adam who's had too many cocktails, so it's really better to be safe than sorry.

Kris takes hold of Adam's hand and twists himself so he's facing Adam. He sets Adam's hand down on Adam's knee.  
This earns him a raised eyebrow. His eyes are reflecting the light of the streetlamps.

Kris decides to start small. "Just so you know, you're not going to work tomorrow."

Adam huffs at him and rolls his eyes.

"No, I'm serious. You're taking the day off."

"I have a meeting tomorrow," Adam argues him.

"You can cancel it, I know it's not that important," Kris says.

"How do you know it isn't?" Adam asks.

"You told me last week, when I asked you what we were doing next Saturday. You said that you had a meeting, but it wasn't so important and you could cancel it if I had any plans," Kris reminds him.

"Well, you didn't have any plans," Adam says, fighting a yawn.

"Yeah, well, I do now, except you've gone and gotten yourself sick, so they're gonna have to wait, I guess."

"I'm fine," Adam says and promptly sneezes. He frowns at himself and Kris fights back an impulse to laugh. He really can't resist much longer, he knows he's close to just letting it go and snuggling close to Adam and falling asleep in his arms, so he has to get this out fast and make it count. Adam reaches for the teacup Kris has completely forgotten about.

"I want to be seen having dinner with you," he says, and takes a deep breath.

Adam nods while sipping his tea and then says. "Okay, then I'm going to work tomorrow."

Kris feels like running against a wall, cause it would probably have more results.

"What - this is not a _compromise_, or a build-up for an ultimatum, I want to have dinner with you. And I don't care if people see us," he says.

"We can have dinner at home," Adam says, raising his shoulders, and goes back to sipping tea.

Kris takes the cup from his hands, it's mostly empty anyway. He takes hold of Adam's wrists, and slowly moves his hands up along Adam's arms, tracing the freckles he knows are there, even when he can't see them.

"This is not what it's about, and you know that, because I've said it a million times. Please, just let me prove this to you." His hands travel up to Adam's shoulders.

Adam sighs and puts his palms on Kris's knees. "You don't have to prove this, I don't need you to - I don't want you to be - we don't have to be that. We don't have to go out, and have the paps take pictures, even when your publicist tells you we should, that doesn't have to be us."

"But I want to," Kris says, and smiles. "That's what you don't get, it's not that I don't mind, but I know that you want to, you'd like to do this, and because of that, I want to, too." Adam shakes his head, but Kris doesn't let him interrupt. "Not like, out every night and such, it's just dinner. I want to go out with you, I'd love to."

Adam sighs and moves his hands up to Kris's waist. "If you're absolutely sure, then..."

"I am. It's gonna be fun, you'll see," Kris says, and Adam chuckles at that. His hands feel cold, even through the fabric of Kris's shirt.

Kris knows that Adam probably wouldn't be so easily persuaded if he wasn't on the verge of sleep, but he also knows Adam doesn't make empty promises, even when he's borderline feverish. It's a start and right now it's good enough. He turns back towards the table and reaches for his cup, Adam's left hand still around his waist, holding him close. Kris's tea has cooled down so he drinks it fast, to get any extra warmth he can, because he doesn't want to keep Adam waiting.

Adam's trying to pull him even closer, his fingers are digging into Kris's side, and he lets out a shaky breath.

"Hey, easy. Gosh, you're shivering. Hey. It's okay." Kris places the cup back on the table and turns towards Adam, presses his palms against Adam's chest. Adam leans into the touch, resting his head on Kris's shoulder. "M' head hurts," he mumbles into Kris's neck, and Kris runs his hands through Adam's hair, massaging his temples.

"Come on, lie down," he says. "You'll feel better in the morning, promise."

Kris shifts slightly, pulls Adam closer to the middle of the couch and pushes him down, gently. He settles on top of him, and runs his hands over Adam's chest again, lazily kissing his neck. Adam just sighs and pats Kris's side, hand moving slowly, he's already starting to relax.

Kris doesn't stop rubbing his arms, and he plans to move down to his feet soon enough, they must still be freezing, when Adam murmurs "So, I'm not going to work tomorrow?", taking hold of Kris's chin and gazing enquiringly into his eyes. Kris just smiles and moves down to kiss him.

"Sleep. I'll make sure you feel better, okay."

Adam closes his eyes, smirking, and hums appreciatively when Kris presses himself closer to share body-heat. He's soon out like a light, which is always a rare occurrence, and Kris finally manages to get his feet warm again, to a satisfying level, at least, before he falls asleep himself.

\---

Kris wakes up to more rain and a slight buzz coming from the TV. They must have forgotten to shut it off; E! is showing the news, commenting about the awful weather. Kris shuts off the TV, feeling peaceful thanks to the rain, and grateful for it, plus who said that everyone's idea of awful weather has to be the same. He leaves Adam to rest and goes to clean up the kitchen.

Adam doesn't wake up till 2PM. His headache's gone, but he has a slight temperature, so they spend the evening lounging on the couch, watching TV, Adam dozing off now and again, and Kris scribbling down lyrics. It's nice and warm and Kris doesn't remember when he last felt so relaxed. Every time Adam's eyes meet his, he gives Kris a slow smile, and Kris just breathes in deep and doesn't worry that much about what's to come anymore. Things are bound to change, if not tomorrow then some day in the future, but right now, this is all they need.

Adam feels better on Sunday, and then he gets bored, so he ends up stealing Kris's glasses and hiding them, trying to cook for both of them, and trying to convince Kris that they should go swimming in the pool, cause they're gonna get wet anyway, and wouldn't it be fun? Kris just laughs and says that it's like 60 degrees outside, which makes Adam pout.

Kris is sitting on the couch, reading - his glasses were in the sock drawer, inside their case, of course; and Adam finally gives up on attempting to play guitar, for the time being. He crawls into Kris's lap and kisses him, running his fingers over the spot where Kris's glasses leave dents behind his ears, but he doesn't take them off. Kris tries to get them off himself, feels they get in the way, but Adam catches his hands and mumbles, "I've missed your glasses", and that's that.

 

It rains for the entire weekend, the drops drumming against the windows, wind howling at night.

Kris thinks it's nice to just _be_ for a little while, enjoy the storm around them knowing that it can't get in; they're safe right here.


End file.
